Prospects for BT Cotton In Mozambique

Raul Pitoro, Thomas S. Walker, David L. Tschirley, Scott Swinton, Duncan Boughton and Higino Francisco de Marrule

No 53461, Food Security Collaborative Working Papers from Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Abstract: Mozambique’s cotton sector is very important to the economy and to poverty reduction in the rural sector. Cotton production in Mozambique is characterized by low levels of productivity, low prices and low returns. Cotton farmers in Mozambique are often no better off than their neighbors who do not grow cotton. Not surprisingly, many cotton farmers have switched to other crops such as sesame. But the Government of Mozambique and the National Cotton Institute (INE) are committed to improving the profitability of the cotton sector and encouraging new investments by international companies. Looking at cotton production globally, the most important innovation in recent years has been the introduction of transgenic Bt cotton. Bt cotton varieties have built-in resistance to bollworm, a devastating insect pest. Cotton production in countries that have introduced Bt varieties, like India, China and the United States, has soared. Yet no country in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with the exception of South Africa, has yet introduced Bt cotton. Burkina Faso is at an advanced stage of testing.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Security and Poverty; International Development; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2009-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-agr
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:midcwp:53461

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.53461

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